Spiritual Realization
Lesson 9: Spiritual freedom
1. What is Spiritual Freedom?
2. Hypnotic, Habitual, Unconscious "Life"
3. What Can't You Seem to Let Go Of?
4. The Eternal Witness
Exercise One
5. From Here to Eternity
6. Pure Consciousness
Exercise Two
7. Just a Minute
8. Reclaim Your Life
9. Beyond Space and Time
10. Self Realization
1. What is Spiritual Freedom?
Spiritual freedom is the opposite of adaptation to the world. Hence the teaching that we are to "be in the world but not of the world." The more adapted you are or become to the material world, the less in touch you become with your spiritual nature and your inner being. You become shaped by and conformed to the world. And lose your self in the world.
Spiritual freedom is about liberation. So, what do we need to be liberated from? What do we need to be free from? Basically, everything.
There is the New Age notion that everything is perfect as it is, and nothing needs to be healed, nothing needs to be done. We are told to find ourselves in the world, by "seeing" ourselves as the world. We just need to sit back and enjoy the way everything is. That is called "living in illusion," totally adapted to the karmic system, so that not even the most gross wrongs, evils, or suffering can be seen for what they are. They are all interpreted as being "good," and there is not seen to be anything to be free from.
But, wouldn't anyone want to be free from pain, suffering, evil, ignorance, disease, and death — if that was possible? It is possible. But, it doesn't happen as a result of simply accepting all of those things as being perfectly normal, right, good, and true. Yes, they happen; no, they are not the way things are supposed to be.
There are those who declare that this world has to be perfect, because it is "god's" creation, because everything that exists is perfect. If that were the case, and everything was in some kind of state of perfection, then who would ever choose suffering and death? No one would. Not if there was such a thing as spiritual freedom and eternal life, free from all suffering, pain, and evil.
There is such a thing as spiritual freedom, and only the most wise may realize it. The marketplace of spirituality sells us on the world, and the karmic system, being perfect and exactly what we want, and nothing could be better. Nonsense. That idiocy is precisely what we need to get free from.
You cannot live in spiritual freedom by imagining you are free, or holding the illusion that everything is perfect, any more than you can live in the desert without finding an oasis of water. No illusion of water is ever going to quench your thirst, sustain you, or give you life. No illusion of spiritual perfection in this world is ever going to lead you to Life eternal.
Your soul is mortal.
The body is mortal, and lasts for only the briefest time in the larger scheme of things. But, the soul is not eternal, either. It too is faced with eventual death, unless it can find its way back to the Source in Divine Spirit. And we do mean returning to the True Source, not remaining lost in the desert, placing all your hopes on the mirage you mistake for real.
Life is not a game, in which you can hold any illusion you choose, and expect reality to adapt itself to fit your illusions. That is living in a fantasy world. In the Greater Reality, you will live or die forever as a result of your choice to accept Reality or to remain lost in a world of illusions. Your very soul depends upon your awakening from the dream of illusion — in which everything is perfect and there is nothing to do — and find the Greater Reality.
You cannot be spiritually free in a state of total illusion, or by total adaptation to the illusion. Nor will your illusions ever become reality, no matter how many people believe them, no matter how strongly those illusions may be held. Illusion does not become Real.
Are you totally free or you are in bondage? You have to be honest with yourself, and answer that question for your self.
2. Hypnotic, Habitual, Unconscious "Life"
If you are not spiritually free, you are most likely living your life within the boundaries of the most hypnotic, habitual, unconscious patterns of behavior, and may not even be aware of it.
The less aware you are, the less spiritually free you are, the more you accept the oppressive state of life which passes for "normal" in this world.
Awareness provides relief from this limiting existence. But, it does not free you. Being more aware lets you see the thoughts, feelings, desires, programming, conditioning, and indoctrination you have — and to learn to bypass all of that.
You are not your body, and you are not the patterns of behavior you may have. You are not your thoughts or feelings or desires or indoctrination. You are the conscious witness to all of that.
Various so-called spiritual teachings declare that your body is the most perfect thing in creation; it is perfect; and it is the altar upon which you worship "god." Nonsense. No matter how conscious you may be in choosing to experience the body, it never was, is not, and never will be the altar of God or perfect or something other than a means to keep you in bondage.
Consider the lives lived by billions of people in this world, and how limited those lives are. They seldom reach beyond the most basic survival needs, and the lack of proper water, food, shelter, and so on. The daily ritual of living is not much different for the most well-to-do. They have the same basic needs. All the rest is illusion.
No one needs a Rolls Royce or a twenty-thousand square foot house or a ten-thousand dollar lunch. But, they think they do. They believe the lies they tell themselves, as to what is of value. And, have no idea whatsoever what is truly of value.
No one needs to suffer in illusions of "prosperity" or in illusions of "lack." We are not what we have in the world, what we do, what we think, what we possess, what we control, where we live, what our bodies look like, what labels we wear, what others think of us, or what lies we have come to believe about ourselves.
Wealth is not a means of escaping the karmic system. If you imagine that rich people have somehow risen above the system, you are mistaken. If you believe that poor people cannot rise above the system, you are mistaken. Spiritual freedom has nothing to do with anything of the material world, least of all material possessions or wealth. And wealth is not a sign that you have mastered the karmic system and all your "lessons." It is just another mirage in the desert of life.
The idea is to transcend the circumstances of your life, whether you label them good or bad, whether you find meaning in them or not, whether you feel they are true to you or not. First, get past what is obviously not right, good, and true to you — all the addictions, false dependencies, habitual and self-destructive behavior. See that for what it is, clearly not true to who you are. But, do not stop there. Even when you come to a place of greater meaning, dignity, and purpose in life, you are not meant to stop there. Keep going. Learn to go beyond that as well.
Don't merely ride the merry-go-round, round and round, over and over, waiting to get the brass ring, and then hold the illusion that you have the prize. The real prize is getting off the merry-go-round.
"You create your own reality" is really just a way of saying: "you are so deluded that you will seek to craft your own chains of gold, wear your shackles proudly, live as a slave to a system that will only ultimately punish you or destroy you, and convince others to remain slaves — while you hold the illusion that everything is perfect, you have risen above the karmic system and are free, and you are God." This is nothing but a lie, the worst lie you can be trapped in.
Spiritual freedom means getting free from illusions, not embracing the biggest ones. Total adaptation to the karmic system — even if you imagine you have everything you could ever want — is the exact opposite of spiritual freedom. It is total ignorance and self-deception.
3. What Can't You Seem to Let Go Of?
Most of us experience some major problems in our lives, disappointments, hurts, abuse, loss, trauma, conflict, despair. There is something about the most stressful events or circumstances which makes it hard to get past them, resolve them, or move out of them. And, sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can't seem to let go or move on.
The reason why, is that part of us is trapped in that situation, still. Part of who we are, on a more subtle level, remains there, beyond our ability to retrieve it. Whether you consider the part of us that is "missing" or which feels lost to us to be part of our soul, our consciousness, our sense of worth or self-esteem, our human dignity or freedom, or our spirit, the feeling is the same. There is an emptiness in us where there should be fullness and wholeness.
Have you ever had a broken heart, been hurt or depressed, suffered a great loss, had your life come to a halt? Is there anything that has stayed with you, and troubled you deeply, which you haven't been able to move beyond?
We are going to consider how to move beyond that, now.
Realize, this is going to be about your power to choose. You may not be able to choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you are going to deal with it. Even if you haven't been able to find any way to deal with something till now, you can go forward. Maybe you can't change the circumstances, and you cannot change the past, but you can reclaim the parts of your self that remain trapped and unavailable to you. You can heal and be free. Maybe now.
At least consider that as a possibility. Don't immediately dismiss it, simply because it may not have happened yet. There is often a timing to things, and some things seem to happen in their own good time; they cannot be forced or controlled or completed until then.
It doesn't do much good to make believe something didn't happen. And it doesn't really help to try to understand how something bad was really good, or good in disguise. We won't even suggest that. But, what we will suggest is this: at some point, sooner or later, you are going to leave this body and this life, and you are going to need to let go of lots of things — whether you want to or not. You won't really have much choice at that point, to remain here and be stuck in the same old situation; you will let go then.
Assume that it is a given, that you will let go of whatever troubles you, when you leave this world. Why not let go of it now, and release your self from all of that suffering now? Why wait until then? You know you are going to do it, anyway, so why not do it now?
There are a couple of ways to do this. One involves connecting with who you truly are — and will be — after you leave this body and this life. The other involves connecting with who you truly are — and were — before you came into this body and this life. Both are the same being, you.
You — spirit or soul — were the same before you came into this life, and you will be the same when you leave this life. You play a role in this life, and then you leave. If you have this larger perspective, you can begin to let go of all of the things that may happen to you in this life. Realizing who you were before this life, as a spiritual being, and who you will be after this life — the same spiritual being — why should anything you experience here affect you so? Only because you lose sight of who you really are.
The problem is: you forgot who you were when you came here, into this life.
It isn't so much the things that happen to us once we are here, but the fact that they occur in the absence of knowing who we really are. They happen in the absence of our true sense of Self, and so their effect on us is far greater than it otherwise might be. If you knew yourself to be the soul or spirit which goes on, which can surmount any obstacle or problem in life and eventually rise above it, you would not be traumatized by life's hardships, at least not nearly as much.
The solution isn't to simply ignore your difficulties (or rationalize or accept them), but to increase your sense of who you truly are, as unbounded spirit, free, whole, and pure. That is who you really are. Whatever you have come to think of yourself in this world — as a result of what you have experienced or what happened to you — is much more of a transient dream or illusion than a Greater Reality. And, if all things must pass, one way or another, why not allow them to pass now? Why not return to the consciousness of who you truly are, and live in that dignity and freedom, now?
The more you know who you truly are, the more spiritually free you will be. The more you live in illusions of who you are, the less spiritually free you become. You are free. Know that.
4. The Eternal Witness
Consciousness — the "I am" that you are — is a silent witness to all that you experience, all that you have ever experienced. Consciousness is beyond — not limited or defined by — the external, physical, material world. Nothing in this world has ever touched who you truly are. Know that.
In one sense, you are separate from everything of the material world. But, in another sense, everything in the material world is affected by consciousness. We tend to think the opposite way: we assume the world is somehow fixed, and it affects us. The reverse is closer to the truth. We are what is unchanging, in our consciousness, in our non-physicality, in our Being; and it is the world which has been undergoing ceaseless change. Our erroneous interpretation of our role in everything makes us feel that we are just here to be shaped by the world.
Have you ever thought, "If only I could return to the way I was before such-and-such happened. I'd give anything to be able to do that"? In reality, you already are who you were before, and who you will be after, every experience in this world. Can you come back to that larger context of experience, and know yourself as the eternal witness to everything you experience?
There is a way to do that, in your own consciousness. It doesn't mean you can erase the past, or what may have happened, but you can return your self to how you were — in your own consciousness. That does not depend upon changing the past, or changing what happened. It only depends upon your connecting with who you truly are, now, and were, back then.
This is going to be an exercise in "folding time."
Exercise One: Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths,
and relax. Allow your awareness to move to a time in the
past when you felt all right, before anything negative may have
affected you.
What occurred in the past is not the focus.
You are the focus. You can put your awareness on
the greatest sense of wholeness and good that you can feel or
ever felt or can imagine is possible, and find a time in the
past when that was how you experienced your self. And you
can bring that forward to now.
If you are unable to locate any time — even a moment
— when you felt okay, when you felt free, good, and right,
then you can look forward rather than backward. Imagine a
time in the future when that is how you once again experience
your self. You can bring that into the now.
Whichever time frame you can relate to better, past or
future, whichever holds more of a sense of how pure, whole,
innocent, and good you truly are, bring that to mind. Even
if for a moment. That is who you truly are. That is who
you have always been. That is who you will be, after this
life. That is the nature of your spirit or soul, which
survives this life, which will go on, which does not die when
the body does.
Whatever has happened to you, whatever you may have
experienced, is localized in time and space. It is bound.
It had a beginning and it will have an end. You were there
before it, and you will be there after it has passed.
You go on.
Picture the flow of time, passing from an endless past to
an endless future. Now imagine you are able to bypass any
negative event that you may not otherwise be able to let go of
— by connecting the flow of time from before the event to
the flow of time after the event.
Let your left hand represent the time before the event,
and your right hand the time after the event. Hold your
hands out in front of you, and slowly bring them together.
Imagine you are folding time, from a point
before the event to a time
after it, so that the event is bypassed. As your
hands meet, imagine that the event in the past no longer has
any negative effect on you, that
its effect remains in that portion of time which you
have bypassed. Imagine the past is no longer with you in the
present moment. It isn't.
In the realest sense of the word, you
are free from the past because it simply
is past. It no longer exists. You can only carry
an illusion of it with you, the remains of a past impression,
which no longer exists. When you are ready, open your eyes,
and allow yourself to be free, here, now.
5. From Here to Eternity
The way we experience time is very much individualistic; different people experience time in different ways. Our concepts of time are an entirely human conception: the second, the minute, all elements of time have no universal significance or validity. They are entirely subjective units of measurement. Various cultures have more of a sense of the seasons of nature, and the cycles of day and night, not some arbitrary "hour" on a man-made clock.
Some people can almost feel every second ticking by. Often, people have such busy lives, and feel such pressure, that every second on the schedule during the day is accounted for, and will be arbitrarily measured for "accomplishment."
Some people have very little sense of time, and need to be reminded what time it is or what day it is. Almost everyone is like that, or has been like that, at some point in their lives. In other words, we each have a (changing) relationship with time. And, we can change our relationship with time.
This is a way to feel more free from the unnecessary pressures of time in our lives.
Once again, we need to refer to who we truly are, to get the true measure of things, their ultimate value and meaning to us. If you know that you are a spirit or soul which has existed for a very long time beyond the bounds of this present life, then what happens in this life takes on a lot less significance. If you know that your have an entire lifetime to do what you are here to do, then what happens in any given moment takes on a lot less significance. In fact, the significance of anything that happens to us in our lives is infinitesimal in relation to how long our spirit or soul has existed.
If you cannot conceive of how long your spirit-self has existed in the past, then think of the eternity of the future in which you will live. That will give you some perspective on dealing with things in this life which are really so small and bound by time.
If by finding our Way — living in a way that is right, good and true for us — we are able to follow Spirit back to who we truly are, then we will live that Way for eternity, forever. That is the time frame that we are working on, here: forever. With this perspective, knowing you will find your way into an eternal kingdom of goodness, peace, love, and Light, you can put up with just about anything while you are still here in this world, in this body.
That doesn't mean you have to be apathetic, or just put up with things that you feel to make better. But, it means you simply do not have to do all the things you once might have thought you had to do, because "life is short and then you die." No, you don't die, not really.
The question is, really, how can you live in a Way that is more true to who you are in the Divine, and who the Divine is in you?
Spirit, consciousness, and being are all qualities that are beyond the bounds of time as we know it. Time and space make up only four dimensions, and spirit is not bound by any of those. Even the universe we are living in will end. It is bound in space and time. Spirit — the spiritual beings — will go on.
6. Pure Consciousness
Consciousness — who you are — is not bound in time or space. When we speak of who you are "inside," we do not literally mean to define who you are as something that exists within (or around) your body. Consciousness is unbounded in time and space.
A lot of scientific thinking is backwards in this regard: it imagines (and tells us all to believe) that matter produces consciousness. We have consciousness as a result of the bouncing around of molecules in our bodies, or as the result of some electro-chemical reaction in our brain. Though this is the most widely held belief, it is simply not true.
Consciousness is not bound in time or space, nor is it produced by any material substance, form, or function. Your consciousness "entered" your physical body when you were born, but it did not become your body. Your consciousness merely became limited in its capacity to experience itself more fully, by the process of identification with the body.
In simple terms, if you think of yourself as a physical body, you train your consciousness to operate within the bounds of that body. You do not expect to be able to cause things to change at a distance, in time or space.
But the latest thinking in science contradicts all previous scientific theories, and acknowledges that consciousness is the greater reality, and it is non-localized in time and space. Quantum theory states that our very consciousness permeates everywhere, and nothing exists outside of consciousness.
Time and space are dimensions within consciousness, which is far more multi-dimensional. Another way to say that is: time and space are a product of consciousness.
The world, which appears so fixed and real, is more of a virtual reality, made of virtual particles, which keep disappearing and reappearing; everything is a probability, a flow of information. The world we live in is not "real," not permanent, not fixed, but always changing on every level. It is, as many deep thinkers and deeply spiritual people have realized in all cultures, more of a dream or an illusion. We experience the illusion, and take it for real.
We experience the illusion of who we are, and take that for real, too.
Sometimes we get lost in "density." Things are "heavy." We feel heavy, burdened. The mind feels thick and impenetrable. Those are all illusions of the dimension we live in, time and space. Realize, even physical matter is almost entirely empty space; and the "substance" of matter is essentially energy or information, rather than anything material.
Exercise Two: This is an exercise to come closer to the
reality of who you are, as pure consciousness. Begin by
taking a few deep breaths, close your eyes and relax.
Picture, sense, or feel your physical body, however dense as it
might seem. Take a deep breath and feel it flowing into your
chest and then into your whole body, up into your head, out
your arms and hands, and down through your abdomen, through
your legs and feet. Relax as you exhale. Do this a couple
of times, and get a feel or sense of your breath or energy
flowing throughout your body.
Next, visualize all the atoms within you as if they were
planets in a vast solar system, like tiny dots in space.
Picture your whole body as a collection of tiny dots of
information. See or feel your body as an underlying energy
field, substanceless, yet organized, intelligent. Allow the
atoms to mentally dissolve into energy, which is what they
really are. See or feel or sense yourself as this field of
energy, or pure consciousness.
Finally, allow your consciousness to expand beyond your
body, out into the actual solar system, and out into space.
Realize, the same consciousness that underlies everything is
there in you.
When you are ready, you can rub your hands together and
gently open your eyes.
You are consciousness, pure consciousness. So, what would cause you to identify yourself with anything of the material world? You may recall the spiritual requirement that we "be in the world, but not of the world." We are to step back from the world, and come closer to who we truly are, rather than taking our identity from the world or anything of the world.
Step back into pure consciousness. You will realize that you no longer need to live in a space of problems, ignorance, unawareness, misidentification, illusion, or bondage. You can live in a space of unbounded, joyful, loving, peaceful, freedom. That is already who you are, and "where" you are. The illusion that you are stuck or bound in time or space is just that, an illusion. It has no power to keep you trapped in the unreal.
Awaken to who you are, and the dream you once imagined was so real will pass. Rub the sleep from your eyes. Let the fleeting images and substanceless illusions pass, and you will know yourself as the dreamer, the witness, the consciousness. You will know who you are in God, and who God is in you.
You will step out of the illusions of time and space.
7. Just a Minute
Do you have just a minute for God?
It takes just a minute to know God, not a lifetime.
People can read scriptures their entire lives, and never know God. Some look for God, but do not find God; others have given up looking. Countless people have countless lives with no sense of God at all. Some people imagine that they will only find God, heaven, or enlightenment at the end of all of their spiritual practices and pursuits. People can study the most esoteric philosophies, whether ancient or modern, and never really find God, here, now. Sadly, they are misguided, mistaken, misinformed, or just plain wrong.
Do you want to know God? Free your mind, and free your spirit. It takes just a minute to step out of the endless cycle of past "life," to come into the present moment, where God is. Right here. Right now.
So, here we go. Picture yourself on a long journey. You have been traveling forever, it seems. Thousands and thousands of years you have been on this journey. You have witnessed all that occurs in human life, all of the happy moments, all of the sad ones, the apparent successes, the obvious disappointments and failures, the birth and death of ideas, philosophies, cultures, civilizations, and nations. The world has been the background for birth, death, war, violence, technology, ideologies, economic systems, religions, business, trade, education, scientific "advances," and much suffering. You have journeyed through thousands and thousands of years; you have seen civilizations come and go. You have seen what man has built change, disappear, and start anew. And, it has all brought you to this one moment in time. Here, now.
All of the past, all of mankind's past, all of your past, is past.
It does not exist any more.
It is nonexistent.
There is nothing there.
No one and nothing is there.
You are not there.
You are not in the past.
You are here, now.
The news from a hundred years ago, the news from last month, the news from yesterday ... it is all past. It does not exist anymore.
Everything you have ever experienced on your journey in life — everything you have ever experienced — is past. It no longer exists.
Yesterday does not exist. What you experienced yesterday does not exist.
What you experienced a minute ago does not exist, any more.
You are here, now. You are in the present moment.
You are completely free from the past.
The future stands before you, as if you are at a doorway to the future, as if you are standing at the gateway of Forever.
Are you willing to take a step forward into the future, now?
What is holding you back?
Fear?
Nothing real is holding you back.
Nothing from the past exists.
Nothing.
Fear, from the past, does not exist.
Whatever caused your fear, worry, doubt, pain, or hurt in the past, was in the past.
Are you perpetuating your own fear, worry, doubt, pain, or hurt from the past?
Are you mistakenly reliving or trying to keep alive a past that no longer exists?
Let go of the past, and be free, here, now.
You are only holding on to an Illusion.
The past no longer exists. It is not real. It is an Illusion.
Give up living in the world of the unreal.
Give up the Illusion that you can continue to live in the past.
Give up nothing.
All of your journey in the past has brought you to here, now. You are here, now. It doesn't matter where you have ever been, or how you got here. You are here, now. You are here, in the present moment, and you are not in the past. You are free from the past. So, let go of everything from the past.
Let go of everything from the past, and be free, here, now.
Let go of fear, worry, doubt, confusion, upset, problems. Let go of everything.
Now, imagine that you are here, in the present moment. You are.
Now, imagine that you are free from everything of the past. You are.
If there is a true God — and there is — then the consciousness of God is with you, here, now. How could it be otherwise? God does not live in the past. God does not live in a book. God does not live in some far off heaven. God so kindly lives right here, right now, in your own heart. Realize, you did not lose God, and God did not lose you. You just forgot God for a while, perhaps. Now, you remember, don't you? God has been with you all the time.
Now, imagine that you live your life that way, from this moment on, in each and every moment. There is no other true Way to live life. The past must disappear into nothingness, at each and every moment. The future is not yet here. You have the present moment to live, to Be in. Your power and spiritual strength, your spiritual vision, begins here, now. Reclaim your self, your true inner spiritual being. Your inner being may have been overshadowed by the past, or lost in the incessant rush of the past into your programmed future. Stop that. Step back. Tell yourself, "Just wait a minute, here." And do not let your past — which no longer exists — mindlessly, habitually, automatically, determine your future.
You always have this moment, the present moment, to be with God, and for God to be with you. Remember that.
8. Reclaim Your Life
Reclaim the present moment. Choose differently from how or what you may have chosen in the past; do not let the past rule you.
Reclaim your awareness in the present moment. Be aware now.
Reclaim your perspective, your objectivity, your ability to think for yourself. Here, now.
Let go of ideologies, cultural and social values, programming, indoctrination, your education, your position in life, your status, your financial situation, your role in life, your worldly attachments, desires, and expectations. They are a trap for your mind, and your spirit.
Now that you know how to be free from the past, how to let go of "nothing," let's consider how to find "everything."
Realize, when you are living in the past, or your past is rushing into and completely determining your future, "nothing" is in charge of your life. The Hindus have a name for "nothing" or "that which is not," they call it "Maya." And, they understand that if Maya is ruling and running your life, then God is not. You are only lost in an Illusion.
So, you must be willing to let go of the past, let go of nothing, let go of the Illusion. That is the only way to get free in the present moment. Now that you know you can do that, that you have that choice, that you are not alone, that many others have come to that realization and understanding of life, in cultures and societies all over the world, take that step. Let go of the past and choose to move forward now.
If you are willing to no longer have "nothing" govern your life, then wouldn't you rather have God leading your life? Letting go of the past, so that it does not rule your life, creates the space for the Divine to lead your life. Similarly, asking for God to lead your life, here, now, frees you from everything that ruled your life in the past. It no longer rules your life, if you live your life for God, here, now. That is a choice you make, on a quiet level of your being, within you. It is a choice you make, in your heart. You are free to make that choice, here, now. The past has stopped running you. You are aware, free, here, now. You can choose to allow God, the Supreme Being, the Source of life, to lead your life. Now, doesn't that make sense? Isn't that a simple thing to do.
God has always been here. Here, now. God did not get lost in the past, you did.
God is the eternal. How could God not be here, now?
God is the Light which shines on your way, which lights your path through your whole journey in life. How could God not be here, now?
You may have not noticed that Light on your path, you may have even disregarded it or been led astray by the world, but that Light did not go away.
You may have not listened to the voice of conscience, that quiet reminder to do what you know to be right, good, and true, within you, but that Light of conscience did not go away.
The Truth has always been there, in you, with you, to lead you.
Maybe you did not listen to its Wisdom, maybe you did not recognize it in the midst of all the endless chattering, programming, and indoctrination that often fills the mind and blocks access to the Truth, within you. But, the Truth has always existed. You just need to honor the Truth, respect it, and not allow the Lie to overshadow it. It doesn't matter how many lies or falsehoods or untruths are told — or how many or which ones you may have once believed in the past — the Truth did not ever go away.
Reality has always been there. It doesn't matter how many or what kind of illusions, deception, or delusions the world may promote, or use to conceal, cover up, overshadow, or dismiss the Greater Reality. Reality did not go away.
So, all you really have to get free from is a Big Illusion, a Big Lie.
All that holds you in its grip is ... Nothing.
9. Beyond Space and Time
God is not bound by space or time. Spirit is not bound by space or time. Consciousness is not bound by space or time. You — the consciousness, spirit, or being with origins in Light — are ultimately not bound by space or time, either. That is only an illusion.
Time itself is a great illusion. You are told by this world that you have only the briefest moment in time here; that is your life; that is all there is to it. That is a Lie. You are told that lie in order to trap you, to control you, your thinking, and your behavior throughout your life. And it works. It shortens your spiritual vision. You lose sight of Forever. And you imagine that every little thing that happens in the space of this little life is so terribly important and meaningful. In Reality, it is not. In the context of Forever, it is nothing at all. So, the things that seem like insurmountable problems, the suffering, the trauma of the past — you must know that all of those shall pass. You can learn to let them pass, here, now. But, even if you are unable to find that liberating Truth and Light, here, now, time itself will make that so. All things must pass. This too shall pass.
If you are a good spiritual being, if you have the Love of God in your heart, if you welcome Truth and Light, then you need to know that life — for you — does not end at the end of this physical life. The past no longer exists, you stand here in the present, at the doorway to Forever. There is life eternal in the Kingdom of God. Know that. Know that is what you have to look forward to. And do not let anything of this world narrow your vision, or deprive you of the joy and hope for Eternal Life with God. You need to think of yourself beyond the confines of the physical body, or the misidentification of yourself with the physical body. The body inevitably grows old, degenerates, and dies. You will not. You, your inner spiritual being, your consciousness, your spirit or soul, will go on. And you will leave everything of this world, and everything of the past behind you. You need to know that you never lose anything Good. And, all those who are Good will be together, reunited in the Kingdom of God, free from all suffering, free from all evil, forever. That is the true promise of God.
The past no longer exists, and you will be on this Earth for a brief passage of time, until you spend an Eternity with God. So, aren't you truly standing on the doorstep of Forever? You may feel some sense of separation from God while you are yet in this world, because the Light and Glory of God are denied by this world, and overshadowed by darkness and evil. You may still be living in a world of darkness, a world in denial. But you can be free, free in mind, free in spirit, even while you are yet here. Knowing that you have forever to spend in ever-increasing Joy must uplift you, and keep your spirits high, even while are you still here for a brief time. Reach out for that Joy, that Peace of God, that Truth, that Light. And be Free. Here, now.
Let the spirit of God lead you, quietly, from within. The less nonsense of this world you fill your mind with, the easier it will be to realize and do what you know to be right, good, and true, within you. That is God leading you, from within. It is the Way God works. There is not a lot of shouting at you, preaching at you, dogma, or indoctrination. It is simply God speaking you to, spirit to spirit, heart to heart. How could it be any other Way?
God must be your Source, the course of your life, and your true destination. There is no part of your life, or you, that God will not align with the Truth, Light, and Way. So, be ready for change. Be ready to let go of those things from the past that you really do not need to carry with you today, or into the future. Let go and let God. This truly is the first moment of the rest of your life; this moment opens up into Eternity.
The next time the world tries to snow you under, with all of its nonsense, programming, indoctrination, propaganda, egotism, emotion, exploitation, abusiveness, corruption, lies, falsehoods, or illusions, say, "Just a minute." Step back, and quietly turn to the Presence of God, in you, for your strength. You may make mistakes in this life — who doesn't — but just keep turning toward God, and you will do just fine. Always let the spirit lead, from within you, and do not try to get ahead of yourself. Let God lead, and just do the best you can. God would not ask any more of you, or any less.
10. Self Realization
Spiritual realization is sometimes referred to as self-realization or God-realization. That does not mean that we realize we are God, even though that is how some people misinterpret the experience. Rather, we realize who we are, and we realize who God is. We realize who we are in God, and what the Divine spark is in us. We do not "become" God.
Neither do we "grow" to become who we already are. We realize who we already are, and experience that more fully, so that we live from there. It is not merely an intellectual or mental state we aspire to, but rather the return to a conscious experience of the unboundedness of our self, far beyond the constraints of "normal" life in this world. We are no longer conformed to the world.
There is a reason why the following material was not presented earlier: it does little good to try to conform oneself to spiritual principles, thinking that this is "enlightenment" or "advancement." Presented earlier, there is often a tendency to try to "learn" what is experienced when one opens to one's inner self. This simply cannot be done — not in any way that produces the experience.
These are realizations we come to, as we experience them. As we open more to who we truly are, we may find that:
- knowing the true Self is freedom; being lost in non-self is bondage
- following spiritual "laws," doctrine, and ritual, or quoting scripture, does not produce spiritual freedom
- inner wisdom brings you closer to Reality; external rites, practices, and sciences do not
- knowledge comes from discernment, not denial, illusions, or non-discernment in thought, word, or action
- discernment involves the awareness of what is lasting and of ultimate value; what is not lasting ultimately has little or no spiritual value
- worldly illusions are transitory; the nature of the Greater Reality is everlasting
- passion is excitement, desire, and attachment via illusions; dispassion is a place of balance and detachment, free from illusions
- we are beings of light, wisdom, peace, honesty, love, power, and enduring Spirit
- seeking spiritual freedom, we let go of ego, selfishness, and past programming
- we learn to be calm and centered in our self, and come nearer to our higher Self
- the mind becomes less affected by external things, less subject to anxiety and stress
- we develop more compassion, forgiveness, honesty, and openness
- the knots of the heart and judgments of the mind fall away
- the endless cycle of births and deaths, no matter how long it has been going on, is not the means of wisdom or freedom but a mechanism of ignorance and bondage
- self-realization is not being caught up with things of the body, personality, or sensory enjoyment
- self-realization is not satisfaction with having one's past determine one's future
- who we really are, our innermost Self, is neither born nor dies, does not grow or become other than what it is
- actions performed in the "dream" state, life after life, have no more impact upon who we truly are than a dream does after we awaken from it
- though we have been shaped by karma including our bodies, our sense of who we are, the conditions of our lives when we know who we are beyond that, we no longer see ourselves as that which is being shaped by karma; we experience spiritual freedom
- we come to know who we are, free from ignorance, free from negativity, free from bondage
- we know our essence, the Source of immeasurable magnificence, and return to the Source.
These are things you simply notice or become aware of, over time, not something you try to "learn." Perhaps you have already had an experience or realization in your life, whether momentary or longer-lasting, in which you connected with a Greater Reality. You may find that you have more such experiences or realizations as you gain more awareness of the Greater Reality.